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Domenico Cutaia
Domenico "Danny" Cutaia (November 22, 1936 - August 14, 2018) was a Brooklyn mafioso and a caporegime in the Lucchese crime family, as capo of the Vario Crew operating from Brooklyn. His son Salvatore Cutaia is a member of the crew. . Background Cutaia was born in East New York, Brooklyn. Cutaia's son, Salvatore Cutaia and son-in-law John Baudanza, who married his daughter Danielle, are both Lucchese soldiers.Gallo, p.449 Cutaia is also related through marriage to Colombo crime family associate Carmine Baudanza and Angelina Baudanza, the parents of John. Lucchese crime family capos Michael "Mickey Bones" Corcione and Michael's younger brother Alexander Corcione and seven other Lucchese and Colombo crime family associates. . Danny Cutaia stands at 5'10 and weighs 180 pounds, and has brown eyes and gray hair. Mob Activities A former bodyguard and chauffeur for Lucchese capo Paul Vario,Capeci and Robbins, p.209 Cutaia was a member of the Alphonse D' Arco's crew. Cutaia soon had his own crew in Brooklyn. He eventually became a leader in the Brooklyn faction after mobsters George Conte, George Zappola, and Frank Papagni were sent to prison. In 1990, acting boss, Alphonse D' Arco, appointed Cutaia to the "Lucchese Construction Panel", run by capos Dominic Truscello and Steven Crea. While working for capo Paul Vario, Cutaia also controlled some illegal gambling operations and had control of the carpenters union local in Brooklyn. He later took over becoming capo of Vario's crew in Brooklyn.Capeci and Robbins p.214 When Vic Amuso decided to appoint an acting boss after the appeals of his murder convictions were exhausted and he knew he would die in prison, he selected Cutaia to introduce Joseph "Little Joe" Defede to other mobsters as his choice for acting boss and spread the word throughout the family. In 1995, Cutaia was indicted on charges of loansharking, racketeering and extorition. In 1996, Cutaia pleaded guilty to making extortionate extensions of credit and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In 2002, Cutaia was again indicted on the same charge. He pleaded guilty again and was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised parole. In August 2005, Cutaia, was released from prison. His parole terms banned him from communicating with family members until August 2008. However, in January 2007 it was reported that Cutaia was the primary liaison between jailed boss Vittorio Amuso and three capos, Aniello Migliore, Joseph DiNapoli and Matthew Madonna, who were running the Lucchese crime family. Prison On February 28, 2008, Cutaia, his son Salvatore, his son-in-law John, and former acting capo Alexander Corcione were indicted on federal racketeering charges for activities dating back to the 1980s. These charges included loansharking, extortionate collection of credit, extortion, marijuana distribution conspiracy, illegal gambling, bank fraud, and mail fraud. On October 25, 2009, Cutaia was sentenced to three years in federal prison for bank fraud. At the sentencing, Cutaia's attorney asked the court for home confinement, saying that Cutaia suffered from depression and advanced multiple sclerosis. Cutaia's request was denied. Cutaia was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Rochester, Minnesota. He served out his sentence and was released in 2012 but was subsequently sentenced to another year in prison for loan sharking. Cutaia was released from prison on October 4, 2013. He subsequently died in Staten Island on August 14, 2018. References External links Category:Lucchese Crime Family Category:Lucchese Capos